Looking at The Fort in it’s current state, you really couldn’t find any similarities between the peaceful haven it was just a moment ago and the chaotic maelstrom it’s found itself in as of the recent news. Certainly, a strong tinge of regret over swept me, since we are in the care of these people. Then again, our entire goal was to pit these two powerhouses against each other, and we’ll certainly do everything we can to have BilBros emerge at the top.

Before we could leave the general’s quarters, they had stopped us for a second to discuss under whose wings we’ll be put.

“We can’t have all of you fight together.” mentioned Julian.

“What? Why’s that?” protested Cecily.

“You could gang up against us, but if it’s just one of you, I’m sure any one of us could take care of you.” Leonard said with a guffaw.

This made us a bit uneasy, fighting in a completely unfamiliar group without the aid of each other… None of us really relished in the idea. Instead, we were each placed under the wings of the four generals, excluding Jorgen.

Ed was to fight under Maxwell, mostly due to William’s recommendation, who is also fighting with the childish general.

Cecily was placed under the care of Julian, but she didn’t seem too pleased to listen to his blabbering. We all gave her a silent look of sympathy, and even Max had a similar look to give.

Carter, surprisingly, was to fight with Quinn, a character we’ve yet to see shine in the spotlight… He was the quiet type, which definitely didn’t sit right with Carter. Phrases like This guy? Seriously? came out of Carter’s mouth, of which Julian had some harsh words to refute with.

I, of course, was stuck with Leonard, and while he was on our side during the negotiations, it was by a marginal amount, quite literally sitting between “Being on our side” and “Mocking us”. He’s bulky and holds his chest up high in pride, so I imagine he’ll be good in a fight, but I’ve heard some gym-bros are all talk…

Overall, this seems like something new, so I of course had no objections to the idea that was proposed. We were told to get our weapons as quickly as possible and recoup at the main hall of The Fort in about an hour from now.

***

While we picked up our weapons, the four of us pondered what to do from now on. Cecily and Carter were brimming with shiny-looking smiles all over, and in the middle of an impending war, no less. Inquiring about the matter, they simply brushed it off as “We finally get to fight in a real gang! WOOHOO!”

After calming them down for just a moment, we had asked about our plan of action, to which they replied Fight with all your might, and don’t get killed!

Ed was a bit freaked out, so he started reprimanding their reckless behavior, much like my mother used to do to me back in the day, but then again, it’s not like there was anything else to do in a full-on war. Best he could do is stay alive, not much to it…

With the final preparations completed, we left for the entrance of The Fort and regrouped with the generals to discuss war strategies.

With everyone huddled up around a large map of The Fort’s blueprints, Jorgen quickly started with his presentation.

“Max’s group will be our vanguard. They’ll attack head-first, clearing the way for Quinn’s and Leonard’s groups to advance while they clear out the remaining fodder. Try to capture as many hostages as possible, this’ll be the best way to destroy their morale while simultaneously keeping our morality intact. Remember: we’re not monsters. Our goal first and foremost is to defend our base and negotiate for peace once more.”

Sounding like a real man on a mission, he really did seem dependable to the very core. There was one thing we didn’t understand about the plan, though…

“Excuse me,” Ed raised his hand, “where is my-err, Julian’s group situated?”

Some people started snickering at his weak presence in comparison to Jorgen’s heart-pounding speech, but the generals admired his willingness to cooperate.

“Why of course,” replied Jorgen, “your group will defend the base while taking care of the wounded or tired soldiers who will eventually crawl back here.”

Looking at Ed’s group, it was mostly comprised of nurse-looking scrawny people, so logistics was most probably their calling here from the start. And don’t get me wrong, you can’t fight a war on an empty stomach, much less without any rest! They were doing the Gods’ work, they were!

“EVERYONE UNDERSTAND?” Jorgen suddenly raised his voice.

“SIR, YESSIR!” the crowd cheered.

Just as quickly as our charge was issued, so too were we already at the place of the altercation. Jorgen was called out to the front to talk with the enemy general, and all the way in the center of the two fronts, no less.

This was done so that no one could hear (or interfere) with the generals’ negotiations. They were also told to drop their weapons in front of them, and with a large thud…

The enemy commander fell on the floor in front of Jorgen. An arrow shot him through the throat, and after his collapse, everyone went crazy.

Looking around for anyone with a bow in hand, the suspects (from both gangs) were quickly tied up and beaten for killing a general before the negotiations were done. Some of the enemy soldiers even teamed up with our soldiers to beat up friends and foes alike. This was literally a picture perfect depiction of chaos.

The generals were told to hide in a safe area so as not to have any more important casualties. After brutally beating (and killing a few) archers, the ones left standing were just left crying out I DIDN’T DO IT!

I had no idea what to do in this situation, so I approached General Leonard, who was seated behind a building not too far from the situation to seek guidance.

“Jus’ don’t do anything, kid.” He said with a serious expression, “They got what they deserved.”

These words shocked me. Got what they deserved? Are they monsters? Looking at the situation, in a moment of fury I spit on the General’s face and ran out to look for Cecily or Carter.

***

Heading outside the tent, it started to look a bit more like war. The people there realized that cross-teaming was a no-no, so they started fighting in a more organized manner, i.e. they finally started fighting the enemy after all the archers were dealt with.

I found some of my fellow soldiers in dire straits, so I quickly went to help them. Fending off the enemies, I got a pat on the back and a “Nice assist!” from the people I helped. Fighting my way through the crowd, I finally made it to Quinn’s battalion. It wasn’t that better on their side either, but the news of the enemy general’s death still hasn’t reached them.

“Lune! T’fuck you doing ov’r ‘ere?” Carter shouted out to me.

“A friend of yours?” asked General Quinn.

“Sure is!” answered back Carter.

There was a noticeable difference in how Carter treated the General now as opposed to just a couple hours ago when he was just assigned to him.

After explaining the situation to them, their faces quickly went pale as they realized how close they were to losing Jorgen, but overall weren’t too sad about the news.

“That’s great news, boy!” mentioned Quinn.

“Yeah! Means we’re surely winnin’ this one!” Carter continued his thought.

As we fought on, I quickly noticed where Carter’s respect for the General came from. His fighting style was more elegant than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. Movement more fluid than water, slices sharper than a sword at least threefold, this was the fighting style used by The Elegant General, Quinn.

“Whooa! General Quinn, where’d you learn that from?” I couldn’t help but ask the question out of sheer curiosity.

“Hmph!” He quickly pointed to his gray colored iris. Indeed, he was a beholder of solipsism, a gray iro. People with this iro are characteristically narcissistic by nature, and believe they themselves are the only true person to exist in the world, with the rest of the world revolving around them. This was solipsism, their main ideology and belief. Even still, I fail to realize what this has to do with his ability with the sword.

“So you haven’t heard? Figures, you aren’t ‘real’ like Sir Carter is here.” He remarked my lack of ‘realness’ as he continued, “New studies suggest each iro has it’s own ‘perk’ of sorts. We all know of the famous folk belief of ‘Green Iros heal faster.’ or ‘Blue Iros have an unparalleled knack for inventing.’ But what if I were to tell you these are actually true?”

He then explained how he believes gray iros have talent with weapons, allowing them to weave past their opponents, making it seem as if their opponent’s world revolves around them. This allows them to slice without so much as a hitch.

Now, he officially piqued my interest. But wait, if that’s the case, then…!

“Is there an iro that creates fire seemingly out of nowhere?”

“That’s-”

He was stopped mid-sentence by an enemy soldier, who he disposed of quickly before heading off to the next one in a blind frenzy. I didn’t get my answer as he started slicing and dicing every person wearing The Blue Lions’ signature uniform. Before running off, he briskly told me to pay Julian’s group a visit after resting up…

As he said that, I quickly fell unconscious from fatigue without even noticing.

***

As I awoke, I noticed I wasn't outside at all. In fact, the room I was in had a similar feel to that of The Fort's enclosures.

"Ah! You're awake, thank goodness!" a boyish voice entered the room I was situated in.

"Ed? Is that you? What's going on?" I answered back.

What struck me as the most surprising is seeing him wearing a BBG uniform, specially fitted with the 'Logistics Emblem' on his chest. I guess he did quite a lot while I was out fighting on the frontlines. Looking around the room, it appears I was in the hospital, which would also explain why I was wearing a hospital gown similar to what Ed wore back in Springwood. I wonder if Harper would be proud of him for playing nurse at BilBros?

"That's what we wanna know too, Grim." he explained, "after our victory during the first day, Carter brought you in here unconscious after you blacked out from fatigue."

Hmm... I see.

"And not only that," he continued, "General Leonard came back the day later with a frown on his face, and doesn't even want to explain what happened on the frontlines!"

Ah, that might've been because of me...

"What's worse, Julius' squad is nowhere to be found..."

These words suddenly made me jump out of my bed in shock. Julius' squad is in trouble? But that means Cecily is also...

"We believe Cecily and the others are surrounded by the enemy and are fighting for their lives according to the scouts' reports, but no one can reach them from the outside." he explains the situation.

"......Get Leonard over here."

I was getting desperate asking for his help, but I also just wanted to spit in his face again for neglecting her safety.

A couple minutes later, that bulky bastard squeezes through the door with the same frown he had on that day. I immediately started shouting insults and egging him on for being a coward and not doing his job as General.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he stopped me mid-sentence, "You have no idea what it's like to be a General, brat! Thousands of lives awaiting your orders, what do you think would happen if I got shot as well? It'd be chaos."

He tried desperately to defend himself, but I think even he knew what he did was the cowardly approach, so after I refuted his every claim, he simply sighed in anger and begrudgingly asked why I called for him.

"I'm giving you a chance at redemption." I explained, "Let me make it clear that I have no respect for you, even as a newbie, but if you join me and show me your worth, I'll at least be proud to call you my General."

"You get put on the frontlines for a day and suddenly you grow a pair? I guess I was wrong about you, kid. I thought you were all talk, but you actually managed to deliver the info on the assassination of the enemy General to Quinn's group. You've got potential, and guts, too."

"Just shut up and get going. Empty praises don't work on me." I said with a fury as I got dressed into my uniform with the 'Frontliners' Emblem' sewn on the front.

Let's get Cecily back...!

***

Making our way to the side of the formation, where their expected location was, Leonard and I decided to split up to cover more ground. We were both quite speedy, so running through the city streets and alleyways was quite the breeze. Leonard decided to cover the surrounding areas, and I said I'll go to the center. This way if the enemies tried to escape, he could ambush them (although I wonder if he's capable of pulling it off).

Entering the run-down building where the scouts said they were being held, I quickly noticed just how quiet the place actually was. Slowly tiptoeing my way from room to room, I noticed some of the enemy soldiers talking in the hallway. I had decided to listen in on them.

"I think that's all of them, let's just go back to base and report this side as clear..."

Crap, looks like they might've subdued Julian's group.

"We aren't allowed to leave after we've killed all of them. We need to get revenge for what that bitch did to the General..."

W-what?! Killed? Does this mean they're all dead? NO! This can't be! Julian seemed capable enough to at least keep the enemy at bay!

The more I desperately listened in on their conversation, the sadder it got. Apparently, after their General got killed mid-negotiations, they all focused their forces on Julian's group. But why? Julian's group wasn't anywhere near the scene of the crime! Why not attack our group, the group right in front of them?

As I looked away for a second to ponder how to face Carter and break the news to him, I noticed the enemy soldiers suddenly go quiet. There’s a chance they spotted me, so I readied my sword in my hand and waited for the right moment to strike.

Slowly… Slowly… NOW!

I jumped up, ready to thrust my sword into the enemy in front of me, when I got another shock upon seeing the enemies on the ground, unconscious. I was even more surprised upon seeing the person who deflected my sword attack stand in front of me.

“Told ya’ a knife is faster than a sword!” she said with a smirk.

“Cecily? And is that General Julian over there?” I said with a dumbfounded expression.

Apparently, from how they explained, those two were the only ones left alive. After the mysterious assassination of the enemy General, they couldn’t keep up with the sudden full out onslaught by the enemy troops, and were forced into hiding in this abandoned shelter all this time. These two then simply waited for allies to come pick them up, and if any enemies were to appear, they’d deal with them accordingly.

“The young mademoiselle’s a rose, alright.” Julian praised her honestly, “Not only did she survive the onslaught, but she’s saved my skin multiple times now.”

He had a more calming aura around him than the last time we met, I guess she managed to win him over for us during their time here. Now that I look at him, he was probably right to not have us join so easily like Max and Leonard did, he probably cared about the safety and wellbeing of his fellow soldiers…

After telling them how Leonard and I went to look for them, we decided our next course of action was to get Leonard and go back to base and request reinforcements. There was no sign of winning at this front, but if we used their tactic and called forth the wrath of The Fort, they’d have no choice but to back down…

Slowly making our way through the war-torn streets, shifting from one corner to the next, one of us knocked over a barrel, leading to enemy troops being alerted. We subdued them without using our weapons, instead relying on our fists and nearby ropes to tie them up to the lampposts. With the General’s gray iro and mine and Cecily’s hand-to-hand training, it was all too simple (these Generals appear to share their eye color, which explains their position in the gang).

The problems arose while I was clearing out the last of the stragglers. I noticed Cecily go off into the distance and pick up a bow from a seemingly dead soldier, when he suddenly grabbed her arm, surprising her and making her shriek. This lead to our location being found out. As a wave of enemy soldiers came rushing in, we had suddenly been surrounded from all sides in the blink of an eye. We had no other option left but to fight…

*schwoop!*

*thud*

A soldier was hit by an arrow and promptly fell from his high ground. The person who shot him was none other than Cecily herself.

This was basically her saying “Let’s go!” and both me and Julian figured this out. We suddenly started beating people left and right, without any regards for their safety. Well, I didn’t kill anyone, just pushed them around and knocked them out. These two demons apparently had no qualms about ending another person’s life, but to me that’s a novel experience that I don’t want to have to ever face in my life.

The more we fended them off, the more they kept appearing, and these two were running out of energy after days of fighting. As if pleading for a miracle, I quietly prayed for anyone to show up…

“Comin’ throooooooough!” shouted a burly voice as he steamrolled an entire lane of enemy soldiers.

“You couldn’t have come at a better time, you rat bastard!” I cried out in relief.

“Leonard?” added Julian, “So you’ve finally decided to do your job?”

“Fuck off, the botha’ ya! I’m a General of BilBros, and I ain’t gonna let some smartass newbie outshine me!” he retorted.

No matter how much of a coward he was, there was no denying we’d have little to no options left had he not arrived in time. Damn, now I gotta start showing him some respect…

Fighting on as if we were all in a trance so powerful you could almost start to sing, before we realized it, a trumpet interrupted us as the enemies shouted Retreat!

“… Is… Is this what I think it is?” I asked out of genuine insecurity.

“YEP!” answered back General Leonard, “WE FUCKING WON!”

***

We returned back to base with loud cheers and applause from the community. Two generals, a boy and a girl returning from a hopeless situation covered in blood that wasn’t theirs, this was what our friends at BilBros saw that day. It was a spectacle unlike any other, but it wasn’t yet time to call forth the celebrations.

BilBros officially won against Blue Lions on all fronts, but it doesn’t change the fact that all this bloodshed could’ve been avoided had that mysterious person not shot that arrow.

The first thing Jorgen did after doing a rollcall was call up a ‘Post war meeting’ to discuss the war crime committed that day…

“The question we all want to know: Who shot the General?”

As he asked this question, he looked around for any shifty behavior from the crowd, expecting to find the perpetrator among them. What he didn’t expect, though, was a straight confession from the crowd…

“I did it.” said Carter plainly.

We all looked at him with a Not the time for jokes, dude. look, but he showed no signs of insincerity when looking back at us.

“Dude, you were with Quinn, I saw you there. Don’t joke about this.” I said back, refuting his claims.

“Whatchu’ talkin’ ‘bout, bro? I w’s right nex’ t’ya when it happened. I wanted ta’ end it quick, n’ run back t’a my station after makin’ quick work of their Gen’ral. Didn’ know it’d make such a fuss, s’all.”

I couldn’t believe his words. Could what he’s saying actually be true? Was I so caught up in the idea of fighting in a war that I genuinely didn’t notice him? I mean, why would he lie about this?

The person that took his words to heart the most, was Ed. He immediately punched Carter in the face upon hearing his explanation.

“Are you mental!? You caused so many casualties with just a single arrow!”

Carter, with a completely straight face, simply used Ed’s momentum against him.

“Don’t act all pure yerself, now. Yer’ tha one who poison’d our hostages under th’ false pretense of ‘em succumbin’ to their wounds.”

Another gasp echoed from the crowd. But now I knew for certain Carter was bullshitting. Ed wouldn’t hurt a fly, it’s not in his nature nor in his interest to do so. So I imagine this is all part of the siblings’ plan, so I’ll play along.

“Fuck! Carter, stop telling them our goddamned plan! I spent ages figuring it out to the last detail, only to have you reveal it to them!”

“Grim!” Ed looked at me in fear.

With these words, I had not only made Carter’s claims seem more plausible, but also successfully incriminated all of us. Now all that’s left is for Cecily to…-

“What?” she said with genuine trembling.

“You guys… Started this?” she screamed out, “After what all these people did for you, AFTER I FOUGHT TO GET US HERE!?!”

Was this not part of the plan? But then, why did Carter say all that stuff? Did I just ruin everything?

“No, wait-!” I hopelessly tried to go back on my words, but the damage was already done. From promising new recruits, we were brought down to the level of killer beasts. All of the members were ready to beat the three of us to the ground, with some consoling a crying Cecily, but the Generals simply stood there contemplating what to do with us.

“Isn’t it obvious?” suggested Quinn, “We throw these traitors out! All four of them!”

“Throwing away the young mademoiselle due to these three’s nasty plot would be unfair, no?” retorted Julian, “And even if we do, she’ll just be stuck with three untrustworthy idiots!”

It was only when he suggested we were a threat to Cecily that I realized just how much they’ve come to hate us.

“Cecily!” I screamed out, “Don’t let them fool you! I was genuinely joking! It was tasteless, I know! But please, don’t stay with them! Anything but that!”

“……………… I’m going back to my room.” She said quietly.

And with that, we were promptly kicked out of BilBros, and Cecily stayed with them…